Fire and Ice
by Tanta Green
Summary: Raenef botches up a spell causing rather interesting results. Is it possible for Eclipse and Raenef to ever both be happy? Raeclipse
1. Day

Warning: This fanfiction will eventually contain mild shounen-ai. If you don't like it, then I suggest that you don't read it.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Demon Diary, but I'm also not making any money from borrowing it, so please don't sue.

Dedication: To Amber, for convincing that it is possible for me to write a 'happy' story. Also, this story was very loosely based on the very short-lived first ever Demon Diary RPG, and is such also dedicated to the people involved.

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter One – Day**

I am Day; I bring again  
Life and glory, Love and pain:  
Awake, arise! from death to death  
Through me the World's tale quickeneth.

From a poem by William Morris

* * *

The great and scary demon lord Raenef idly watched a butterfly as it floated around behind his tutor Eclipse's back. It seemed to come within an inch of the tall, dark demon without Eclipse even realising it was there.

"Are you even listening?" Eclipse snapped at his lord and student, causing the butterfly to flutter away as fast as its delicate wings could take it.

Raenef's eyes filled with tears when Eclipse chastised him. He pouted at his tutor, feeling that the demon's snapping was entirely unjustified. Of course he was listening. Eclipse's rich, silky voice made it almost impossible for the demon lord to not pay attention. He hadn't absorbed a word the demon had told him, of course, but he had at least been listening until the butterfly had distracted him.

"Yes Eclipse," Raenef sniffed. "Of course I was listening."

Eclipse seemed to calm down. The truth was he could never stand to see his young master put on that face. It was like kicking a puppy. Not that Eclipse hadn't kicked puppies before, but it's just a saying. Oh, you get the point.

"Fine then, my Lord," Eclipse said as calmly as he could manage. "Perhaps then it's time that we should try the spell."

_The spell?_ Raenef wondered._ Oh, that's right, he was saying something about a spell to… do… something… I really don't have a clue. What was it called again? Ah, that's right._

"Okay!" Raenef smiled. He put both of his hands in the air as Eclipse had told him to, gathered the required mezraez, focused his energy and then shouted. "Fiery Haze!"

The energy swirled around the both of them, and then suddenly stopped. Raenef couldn't detect any change at all.

"It was Fiery _Blaze_ my Lord, Fiery _Blaze_!" Eclipse practically screamed. "You were supposed to summon a large ball of fire to hurl at your enemy, but now I'm not sure what you've done!"

"Oops," Raenef offered.

Raenef, Eclipse, and the other inhabitants of the castle worked out exactly what Raenef's botched-up spell did when half an hour later, the temperature around the castle had risen by at least ten degrees, and showed no sign of stopping.

Raenef had created an unexpected heat wave.


	2. Spring

AN: My muse seems to be taking a day off, so it's up to me to do the disclaimer for once. I don't own Demon Diary, and I'm not making any money out of it. Now, without further ado I finally present to you Chapter Two.

**Chapter Two: Spring**

_Spring am I, too soft of heart._

_Much to speak ere I depart._

_Ask the summertide to prove,_

_The abundance of my love._

From a poem by William Morris.

* * *

Erutis moaned and wiped the sweat off her brow. The morning had started out all right, but at the moment the temperature in the Raenef castle was hot enough that even just standing there in a singlet top and hot pants was making her sweat, and it only seemed to be getting hotter.

"Good one Raenef," Chris muttered sarcastically from his position on the floor. Even Chris had reluctantly given up his clerical robes in favour of a t-shirt and baggy pants. "Now the saga of Chris the super-genius is going to end with the hero melting into a puddle on the floor."

"I didn't mean it," Raenef sniffed, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. As soon as Eclipse saw the look on Raenef's face he sent a stare that contained daggers (and several other types of blades and a pitchfork) hurling towards the cleric.

"Woah!" Erutis exclaimed, grabbing hold of Eclipse' arm before he could hurl a fireball at Chris. If there was one thing Erutis had learnt from her stay in the castle, it was never to insult or upset Raenef, especially when Eclipse was nearby. Apparently Chris had yet to learn this lesson.

"We're all feeling a little on edge because of Rae's screw-u…" she hesitated as Eclipse sent his death stare at her instead. "Because of Rae's accident," she quickly amended, taking her arms away from Eclipse. "But we should be concentrating on trying to fix it, not killing Chris, even though the idea is awfully tempting."

"I would have already," Eclipse commenting, ignoring the stream of protest coming from Chris's mouth. "But to be honest I'm not exactly sure what the spell did. Taking a guess at the solution could cause more problems then it solves."

"Bet I could fix it…" Chris mumbled.

"Why haven't you then, super-genius?" Erutis replied.

"That's a good point," Eclipse said. Chris shuddered as the demon's attention turned to him once more.

"In fact," Eclipse continued, an almost manic grin settling on his face. "I would suggest you sit down and try and find a way to fix this or I'll find a way to melt you a lot quicker than this heat wave will."

"What!" Chris screamed. "But it was Raenef who…"

A fireball appeared in Eclipse's hand.

"All right," Chris groaned, picking himself up off the floor and heading into the depths of the castle. "But it's not fair."

* * *

Raenef sighed as he looked through his large wardrobe full of suitably demonic clothes, all of which had been chosen for him by Eclipse. It was too hot to wear any of these, nearly all of which flowed, billowed or hugged his figure more than would be comfortable in boiling hot weather. He was going to be so uncomfortable, and there was no-one to blame but himself.

Personally, he couldn't really care how much his clothing inspired awe and terror in the hearts of those who saw him, but Eclipse did insist.

Maybe just this once Eclipse wouldn't mind, Raenef thought, pulling out a long flowing garment he knew he would never wear and wondering if there was something as simple as a pair of scissors and a needle and thread somewhere in the castle.

* * *

Eclipse stared at his reflection in mild disgust. Usually he wouldn't be seen dead in anything but a rather large, flowing and preferably black robe. Getting around in anything else simply wasn't demonic enough, but when the temperature was this extreme, certain allowances had to be made.

He had settled on a sleeveless top with a high neck, which was fine enough, but the pants…

Eclipse hated wearing short pants. His legs just didn't look any good in them, but he knew that if they were any longer he might, as Chris had suggested, melt into a puddle on the ground. It was just as well there was no-one around to see him, Eclipse realised.

"Eclipse!" a voice that managed to sound both happy and nervous at the same time called from the corridor behind him.

Eclipse turned around, glad that it was only Raenef, but still wondering at the uncertainty in his master's voice.

It was then that his breath stopped. He tried to keep his attraction to Raenef hidden as much as possible, but when his lord came towards him dressed as he was, it was all he could do to stop himself from pouncing on the demon lord and ravishing him.

Raenef's skin tone was much more suited to summertime than Eclipse's was. His bronze chest and tanned legs just ached to be touched.

From somewhere (Eclipse was far too distracted to figure out where) Raenef had found a pair of knee length maroon board shorts and loose sandals. He was wearing nothing on the top half of his body, unless you counted the chain of oversized maroon and black beads that decorated his neck.

"Umm, Eclipse?" Raenef asked, approaching his tutor.

* * *

This was not going to go well; Raenef thought as he noticed the way Eclipse was staring at him. He knew his outfit wasn't demonic enough.

This probably wasn't the best time to be asking him, Raenef realised. Then his brain caught up with his eyes, realised how tight Eclipse's shirt was and all rational thoughts fled his mind.

"Eclipse, I was wondering if I could ask you for something?"

"Hmm?" Eclipse answered dreamily. "What is it?"

"Well, with the heat and everything I realised something that I don't have, which would be really good, only I don't know whether it would be demonic or not to have one," Raenef blurted out.

"Hmm?" Eclipse said again, causing Raenef to wonder whether his tutor was all right. Eclipse's eyes didn't seem to be focusing properly.

"I was hoping," Raenef said. "That we could get a pool put into the castle."

Raenef winced in expectation, waiting for Eclipse to say 'no' or chastise him about how undemonic it was to want something like a pool, but the chastising never came. Looking at the demon once more, Raenef was surprised to find a mild look of disappointment on Eclipse's face.

* * *

_Oh_, Eclipse thought. _A pool? That's all? Damn._

The completely unfocused and unrealistic dream world Raenef's appearance had thrown him into had allowed Eclipse to imagine, just for a second, that Raenef might ask Eclipse to be his lover, or at least for a kiss, and at that moment, Eclipse, despite all of his common sense, would probably have given him whatever he asked for.

So what? It had fit with what Raenef was saying about whether or not it would be demonic. Well, not really, but it had still been a nice thought.

"A pool?" Eclipse found his voice in time to say.

Looking at Raenef's face he couldn't help but notice the adorable expression, complete with puppy-dog eyes that came when Raenef was really excited or emotional. How could he say no to those eyes?

"Of course Raenef," Eclipse smiled, accidentally forgetting any formalities. "I'll send for some of the villagers. It shouldn't take them any longer than a couple of days."

"Oh." It was now Raenef's turn to be disappointed. "Couldn't we just use an incantation to make one ourselves?"

"We probably could, but if there is an incantation for making a pool, then I don't know of it. Trust me, it will be quicker and easier if we get someone else to do it."

_Oh no_, Eclipse thought, taking in the crushed look on Raenef's face.

"Master Raenef?" Eclipse said softly, placing a hand on Raenef's shoulder.

"I just felt like going for a swim, that's all," Raenef shrugged.

Eclipse's brain and heart went off immediately, working in tandem to create what was probably one of the most illogical and emotion-driven ideas in Eclipse's life.

_Swim…_ Eclipse thought. _Yes. Just me and Raenef wearing only board shorts._ He restrained himself from moaning out loud. _Maybe…_

"Raenef," Eclipse smiled once more. "Have you ever been to the seaside?"


	3. Summer

Just thought I'd tell you in advance; this chapter is slightly AU, and like the rest of the story, very fluffy. _Italics_ mean thoughts, or quotes, as in the case of the poem at the beginning.

Oh yeah, and I don't own Demon Diary.

**Chapter Three: Summer**

_Summer, looked for long am I,_

_Much shall change or 'ere I die._

_Prithee take it not amiss,_

_Though I weary thee with bliss!_

From a poem by William Morris

* * *

Eclipse couldn't help but grin when he saw the look on Raenef's face. It almost made dressing up in only black board shorts and sunglasses worth it. The young demon lord stood on the hill overlooking the ocean in front of him, and just stared wide-eyed at the mass of water in front of him.

Raenef was still wearing the maroon board shorts he had found in the castle. He had insisted that the two of them should dress so that they didn't stand out.

Eclipse had to agree with Raenef. The demon lord was showing a rare amount of logic, after all. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Raenef wasn't wearing anything on his top half; nothing at all to do with that, of course.

"Come on Rae! I'll race you to the waves!"

_That's right_, Eclipse's thoughts groaned. _The damned swordswoman is with us._ He had almost forgotten about Erutis.

The knight was currently wearing a red bikini. Chris had been forced to stay at the castle, but there was no way Erutis was being left behind. Once she had Raenef convinced the rest was easy. Eclipse now wished he hadn't given in so easily to a pair of puppy-dog eyes.

Raenef began running towards the water before Erutis could finish what she was saying, leaving Eclipse standing on the grassy hill, looking up at the sun.

_My skin is going to fry in this sun…_

* * *

Raenef tripped over his feet in his rush and fell face first into a salt-flavoured wave.

"Bleah," he complained, getting to his feet. "This water tastes disgusting."

Erutis came up behind him just in time to push him face forward in the water once more, causing him to swallow another mouthful of water.

Raenef could just imagine Eclipse berating him for that.

_Demon lords do not get pushed face first into water, nor do they trip over their own feet!_

Raenef found himself grinning.

_Wait a second!_ Raenef's thoughts began to scream. _Where _was_ Eclipse?_

He turned around to discover Eclipse, still standing on the beach, carefully applying sunscreen to his pale body.

_Poor Eclipse,_ Raenef's thoughts began to scream. _His skin really does make him look beautiful and fierce when he cares to show it off, but in this sun his skin is going to burn bright red._

_Maybe I should go and help…_

* * *

_Damn sun! _Eclipse mentally cursed, forcing himself to restrain from casting a Black Hole spell on the bottle of sunscreen beside him.

It was hard enough to coax the liquid out of the bottle, harder still to get anything less than a litre to pour out onto your hands.

His hands were currently smothered in the stuff, even after coating his arms and legs with it, and he had no idea how he was going to do his back without using magic and causing some serious questioning from the people around him.

"Hey Eclipse!" Eclipse was startled to look up and find Raenef's smiling face less than a foot away from his own. "Did you want some help?"

Eclipse was, for the first time in his life, completely dumbfounded. _How did he sneak up on me like that?_ Was his first thought, before _Raenef wants to rub sun screen all over your back! _quickly took over.

"Raenef, you don't have to…" Eclipse found himself saying. Surely it would be undignified for a demon lord to do a favour like that for an underling.

"Come on. It'll be fun!" Raenef chirped, wiping some of the sunscreen off Eclipse's hand. "Besides, I want you to come swimming with me!"

Raenef proceeded to wipe the sunscreen all over Eclipse's back; flicking Eclipse's hair over the demon's shoulder with extreme reluctance. Raenef's touch was delicate and soft, and Eclipse found himself leaning into the demon lord's touch.

_Oh no! _Eclipse's thoughts screamed. _You're going to have fantasies about Raenef and sunscreen for weeks now! Not to mention how undignified the whole situation was._

What did it matter? It felt so good…

And then Raenef stopped.

_Wha..? _Eclipse's thoughts screamed in a very un-Eclipse-like manner. _It can't be over yet!_

"There you go Eclipse!" Raenef squeaked. "Now you have to come swimming with me!"

"Master Raenef…" Eclipse hesitated, glancing at the crashing waves and wondering how he could get out of his current predicament.

Before he could say anything though, Raenef had taken hold of Eclipse's hand and dragged him into the water.

"Come on Raenef!" Erutis called, prompting Raenef to drag Eclipse further out into the water.

Eclipse frowned. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

And so the next hour passed, with many smiles, or in Eclipse's case, frowns, and many mouthfuls of salty water. After a while Raenef took to clinging to Eclipse every time a large wave crashed over the trio, as the older demon stood against the ocean's fury with ease.

All was good in the world, until Eclipse realised that, despite the presence of a large amount of sunscreen, he was beginning to burn.

"Master Raenef," Eclipse said softly to his liege, who was currently attached to Eclipse's arm. "I fear I must leave now," he continued, a not-so-small part of him feeling real regret at having to part Raenef from his current life-raft.

"But… Eclipse…" Raenef brought out his puppy-dog eyed stare, and Eclipse would have been maybe been tempted to stay, if it wasn't for the fact that bright red skin was not at all fashionable for a high ranking demon such as himself.

Within seconds Eclipse was back on shore, and Raenef was left chest-deep in the water, staring after him.

"Eclipse…" Raenef sighed in disappointment.

A massive wave chose that exact moment to crash over the young demon lord's head, proving that Neptune, the god of the ocean, does in fact have a perfect sense of comedic timing.

"You know what they need here," Raenef said as he came spluttering to the surface. "They need somebody to stay on the beach to make sure nobody drowns."

"I'm serious!" he added when Erutis gave him a doubtful look. "I could have just drowned then and nobody would care. If they had a person sitting on the beach and watching for people that get surprised by waves, then he could have jumped in and saved me!"

"I bet you Eclipse would jump in to save you," Erutis commented, a sly grin beginning to form on her face. "He'd probably give you mouth-to-mouth too if you needed it."

Erutis couldn't help but giggle as Raenef oh-so-obviously began to work out that maybe be wanted to almost drown, if only for the experience of receiving the kiss of life from Eclipse. Gods, Eclipse and Raenef's feelings for each other were so obvious. She briefly considered attempting to drown Raenef herself, but decided that the joy of knowing that Eclipse and Raenef were finally together was **not** worth it if Eclipse's fury meant that she wasn't around to see it.

Neptune decided to interrupt again, this time throwing off Erutis. The knight resurfaced almost twenty metres away, a scowl on her face.

"This stuff really does taste disgusting," she said, spitting out as much salt as possible. "You know what? I'm going to go find something to eat. Something with preferably as little salt as possible in it."

And so Raenef found himself all alone in the waves.

"Oh," he whined. "This is no fun by myself. I wonder if…"

His thoughts began to run wild, and within minutes, this time without interruptions from the almighty ocean god, Raenef had convinced himself that he **definitely** wanted to find out whether Eclipse would be willing to give him mouth-to-mouth.

* * *

Eclipse was meanwhile enjoying his own private version of hell.

It had been hard enough to find a spot on the beach where he wouldn't get completely burnt. The sand… Well, that was even harder to get rid of than the sun. It seemed to get everywhere; in his pants, under his nails, and it was going to take hours to brush out of his hair.

Well, at least Raenef was enjoying himself.

Wait a second. Where was Raenef?

Eclipse got to his feet and began staring at the waves as he realised he could no longer spot his master.

His stomach seemed to roll inside him, especially when he spotted one of Raenef's hands flinging about just above the surface.

No longer caring about the beaming sun over-head or the unwelcome presence of sand in his shorts, Eclipse sprinted towards the ocean and dived in, his arms moving at almost inhuman speed as he raced towards where he had last seen his master.

* * *

_Well,_ Raenef thought as he felt Eclipse's arms drag him to the surface. _That was quicker than expected._

It had been quite easy to play dead really. All Raenef had to do was relax and let his body go all loose. Oh, and hold his breath really well. Not like that was difficult though. Eclipse had, after all, taught him a spell that would help him hold his breath for up to an hour.

Raenef hadn't really remembered to use the spell before this occasion, but then again, he'd never had a reason to remember it, had he?

Raenef forced himself to stay relaxed as Eclipse carried him towards the beach. It would be so easy to just lean into Eclipse's chest.

Eclipse shifted him slightly, so that Raenef's head rested on his shoulder.

_Ah_, Raenef thought. _Much better._

Eclipse put him down on the sand, quickly, yet still incredibly gently. Raenef forced himself not to give the game away by smiling. It was so difficult, especially when he felt Eclipse's lips thrust against his own.

Eclipse was, as Erutis had guessed, giving him the kiss of life.

Eclipse's lips were gone as soon as they had come.

Raenef's eyes shot wide open.

Wasn't it supposed to be longer than that? He hadn't even been given enough time to kiss back yet.

Eclipse was just about to press his lips back on Raenef's when he realised his liege was staring up at him, and definitely breathing. In fact, he was breathing quite heavily.

"Eclipse!" Raenef grinned. "I… I was just practicing that spell you taught me!" Raenef tried to excuse what he had done. "You know, where you can hold your breath? I think I got it right!'

"You mean," Eclipse frowned. "That you're perfectly fine?"

"Umm… Yeah!"

"Oh." Eclipse felt his cheeks flush bright red as he realised what he had just done. His lips had touched Raenef's, and there wasn't even mouth to mouth to blame it on now.

_Although,_ the small part of Eclipse's mind that managed to cling to rational thought no matter what the situation, pointed out, _you did think he needed mouth to mouth._

And now Raenef was lying underneath him, staring up at him with flushed cheeks and lips, and the most wanton expression on his face. It would be so easy to just lean forward and…

"Hi guys!" Erutis yelled. Eclipse looked up to find her standing there, holding on to three cones of rapidly melting ice-cream. Her eyes went wide as she took in the situation; the very small distance between the two of them; the vagueness in Raenef's eyes.

She blushed.

"Oh!" she cried. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No!" Eclipse said, recovering his dignity by jumping to his feet and brushing some stray sand off his chest. "No. Master Raenef was just showing me how well he has mastered a spell I taught him a while ago. You weren't interrupting anything."

"Oh. Erutis sighed, sounding vaguely disappointed.

Eclipse wasn't really going to accept the ice-cream that Erutis held out for him, but Raenef insisted. Eclipse was surprised to find out that he actually enjoyed it.


	4. Autumn

Tanta; Okay. It's been how long since I've updated? I'm sorry. Please don't kill me. If you need a disclaimer check the first chapter.

**Chapter Four: Autumn**

Laden Autumn here I stand  
Worn of heart, and weak of hand:  
Nought but rest seems good to me,  
Speak the word that sets me free.

From a poem by William Morris

* * *

Eclipse scowled and rubbed at his skin, already painful and blistering from the amount of sun it had received. It seemed that there was going to be as much damage to his porcelain complexion as he had feared. It wasn't just his skin's new bright red colour either. At the moment he was more worried about the fact that every time he moved or his skin brushed against his clothes it became extremely uncomfortable and usually painful. 

It would have been nice to say that it was all worth it to see his master smile, but even that small amount of pleasure had been taken away from him. Raenef the fifth had been uncharacteristically quiet during the trip back to the Raenef castle.

Eclipse had been so sure that Raenef had been enjoying himself. Maybe it was just Raenef's sadness at leaving the beach that had caused this sudden silence. Eclipse wished he could pretend that he didn't know Raenef well enough to know that this wasn't the case. Perhaps there was a little bit of Raenef that would miss the beach, but the glances Raenef kept giving him suggested that there was a lot more that was bothering the demon lord than the lack of sand underfoot and waves lapping at his feet.

Perhaps he should approach his lord. Perhaps it was something that Eclipse had done that had Raenef so upset. If he wasn't Eclipse and was say, someone like his lord, he would probably rush up, interrupt Raenef and Erutis's hushed and awkward sounding conversation and demand through overuse of puppy-dog eyes to know whether he had upset Raenef in any way.

But he wasn't. He was Eclipse. He would sit back and pretend for now that he didn't give a damn whether it was him that had upset Raenef. He would wait for the right time to approach Raenef and ask him if there was anything he could do to alleviate Raenef's sombre mood.

For a moment, Eclipse wished he wasn't himself.

Because, deep down inside the heart he had tried to keep frozen for so long, he knew that he _was_ the reason Raenef was so upset.

* * *

"So," Erutis nudged Raenef a little too roughly in the ribs. "Did I miss anything? Is that why you're so quiet? Are you embarrassed?" 

"What are you talking about?" Raenef asked. "I'm not quiet."

"Yes you are!" Erutis cried. "Or are you just too busy thinking about a certain someone? You can go back there and talk to him you know. I promise I won't interrupt this time."

"What?" Raenef tried to act totally innocent. "I wasn't thinking about Eclipse or anything! And what do you mean interrupt? We weren't going to do anything! There's nothing happening between me and Eclipse."

Erutis became silent and then nodded knowingly.

"That's the real problem, isn't it?" she said. "There could be something between the two of you, but there isn't. Raenef, Raenef, Raenef," Erutis shook her head and threw a companionable arm around Raenef's shoulders. "You should go back there and tell him."

"I can't," Raenef whispered. "He's my servant, and I'm his master, and as far as he's concerned anything more would be wrong."

"How do you know though?" Erutis persistently attempted to, for the first time since she had met the demon lord, make Raenef more positive about the subject.

Raenef sighed and stayed uncharacteristically quiet.

Erutis just smiled and nodded, feeling rather confused about Raenef's behaviour.

"Don't worry Raenef," she said, summoning a smile for Raenef's benefit. "He likes you. I can tell." She winked at Raenef and then glanced back to see Eclipse watching the two of them with a rather worried look on his face.

* * *

As the Raenef castle came into sight, Eclipse felt his heart very slowly, for want of a more appropriate word, disintegrating; although that really was what it felt like it was doing. His lord just seemed to be getting more and more miserable and quiet, and as much as he tried to deny it, he knew it was his fault. 

Chris came running out to them from the castle, but slowed down over the last few metres and tried to look like the fact that they were home was no big deal to him. None of them bought it; not even Raenef.

"So," the cleric began, before he had properly assessed the situation; probably an unwise move. "How did the trip go?"

Raenef and Erutis didn't answer. Eclipse's gaze however, was answer enough for all three of them.

"Okay…" Chris looked back and forth at the three of them as though trying to work out what it was that he was missing. "Well, I've got some good news!"

Chris sounded uncharacteristically optimistic.

"What?" Raenef went from melancholy to happy and excited in under a second.

"The heat wave should be gone soon!" Chris sounded unsure of himself, despite the obviously good news. "I fixed it!"

Raenef grinned so wide Chris thought the demon lord's face might fall off. Eclipse just stared and blinked, and though his demonic pride was the only thing stopping him from fainting because of the shock.

"I don't believe it," Erutis had the presence of mind to say. "Chris actually did something right for once."

"Hey!" Chris protested. "I'm not the successor to the High Cleric of the Temple of Rased for nothing you know. I am a supergen…"

Chris stopped as he suddenly found two demons and a swordsmaster apparently trying to stare him to death.

"All right. All right," Chris conceded. "But what do you want me to tell those guys?"

He pointed towards a group of very scared looking labourers, probably dug up from some village to build Lord Raenef's pool.

"Have them build it anyway," Eclipse sighed. "No doubt Lord Raenef will want it some other time. Am I correct Lord Raenef?"

No answer came, and Eclipse realised that in the last couple of seconds Raenef had managed to sneak away somewhere.

"Master Raenef?" Eclipse called, venturing off to find his liege's whereabouts.

"Am I missing something?" Chris asked Erutis as he watched Eclipse disappear.

Erutis just sighed and stared after Eclipse dreamily.

"They just don't realise," she began softly, "that sometimes unrequited love isn't as unrequited as it seems."

"What?" Chris looked and sounded clueless. "Are you talking about Krayon now or something?"

Chris swiftly found himself hit on the head by the handle of Erutis's sword.

"I was talking," Erutis grit her teeth and pointed angrily at where the retreating form of Eclipse had been up until a couple of seconds ago. "About those two!"

"Eclipse and Raenef are in love?" Chris questioned, looking rather worried at the prospect.

"Duh!" Chris found himself victim to another one of Erutis's attacks. "Are you blind or something?"

"But they're both guys!" Chris protested. "That's really weird!"

"No it's not!" Erutis screamed. "It's cute! And it's a shame really that they're both too clueless to realise what the other feels. It really is."

* * *

"I did it again," Raenef sighed as he gazed out at his lands that evening. A slight breeze ruffled his hair, and he smiled at the fact that it wasn't the blistering heat that had been blowing around the castle when they left. "Didn't I?" 

He looked over at Eclipse, to find the older demon staring at the landscape, clearly not interested in the view before him.

"I'm sorry," Raenef continued. "I didn't mean it. Well, I did, but I just wanted to see if you would and it's so difficult sometimes."

"It's difficult for you!" Eclipse snapped at the young demon lord, before letting out a short, pain-filled laugh. "Have you any idea how difficult you've been making it for me lately?"

"I'm sorry," Raenef whispered.

Eclipse sighed. "What did I tell you about…?"

"Well what else am I supposed to say? Either I say sorry or I ignore every word you say and take you as my lover anyway otherwise it doesn't make any sense!" Raenef screamed.

Eclipse had noticed that the new Raenef seemed to be much more forceful at times like this. From a certain standpoint he supposed he supposed he should be happy about it, but sometimes, like right now, it made things difficult.

"If you're going to pretend that you're only my servant and I'm the almighty demon lord then why don't you just give in to it like I want you to?" Raenef continued. "But if you want me to listen to you about this then it means that I have every right to say sorry if I want! Eclipse… Why can't you just give in to it? Why can't I love you?"

"We've talked about this before, Master Raenef," Eclipse said, trying as hard as he could to appear as the voice of reason in this situation.

And indeed they had talked about it before; so many times that Raenef was beginning to become sick of the conversation. It had started when an over-eager and far too inexperienced Raenef had, after many weeks of fighting with himself, finally decided to tell his tutor how he felt. Eclipse had stayed silent for a while, before announcing that it didn't matter whether or not Eclipse returned the young demon lord's feelings; they couldn't be together. Since then, Raenef had been told countless times that his position as demon lord took precedence over any personal feelings he had. How many excuses had Eclipse made? Raenef needed an heir, the other demons would look down on them; there was always some new excuse to be made.

How many times had situations like this arisen? No matter what it was, no matter what adventure they found themselves on, no matter how Raenef tried to please Eclipse, nothing worked.

And so, for what seemed to be the hundredth time, Raenef wished there was some way he could knock some sense into Eclipse. He wished that he wouldn't have to hear this stupid conversation again. He didn't want an heir. He wanted Eclipse.

Raenef sniffed a little, and wrapped his arms tightly around his body to shield himself from the rapidly cooling wind. When had he gotten so cold?

He blinked as something soft and extremely cold touched the tip of his nose. Snow? It shouldn't have been snowing at this time of year, should it? He looked over at Eclipse, to find the other demon looking up at the cloudy skies in confusion.

Did snow usually make you this drowsy, Raenef wondered, because he was suddenly overcome with the deepest desire to sleep. He blinked a little, trying to get rid of the blurriness that was swiftly overtaking his vision.

Eclipse gazed at the sky, trying to work out what could have caused the snowstorm. His thoughts were interrupted however, when a soft moan came from beside him. He looked over to find that Raenef wasn't at all steady on his feet. He hadn't realised how tired Raenef had looked before.

Raenef stumbled the last two steps to Eclipse's side, just as his eyes fluttered closed. Eclipse placed his hand on Raenef's forehead to discover that it was burning up, and not because of the sun that had burned his own skin. The swift change of weather had taken its toll on the young demon lord. Raenef was sick.

Raenef collapsed against Eclipse, letting the elder demon take all of his weight. The reason for the strange weather hit Eclipse just as Raenef's weight did.

"CHRIS!" Eclipse screamed.

* * *

AN: Okay. That was the story's one and only twist. I know pulling a twist like that in such a fluff filled story isn't at all usual. I'm not sure whether it works or not, so please let me know what you think. 


	5. Winter

AN: Yes. It's been a while, but we've finally reached winter. This is not the end though folks. There will be one more chapter after this. Just warning you that this story contains shounen-ai, just in case you haven't guessed by the content of the last four chapters. Also, just reminding you that I don't own Demon Diary. If I did, there would have been a different ending. One that involved a kiss for starters.

**Chapter Five – **Winter

_I am Winter, that do keep  
Longing safe amidst of sleep:  
Who shall say if I were dead  
What should be remembered?_

From a poem by William Morris

* * *

Eclipse looked down at the sleeping face of his master. Raenef's lips moved almost silently, as though talking to someone in his dreams. His face was flushed bright red. 

Eclipse put a hand to his master's brow, noting that Raenef had a burning fever.

Raenef whimpered in his sleep, one of his lithe hands gripping tightly around the pink sheets, that, much to Eclipse's dismay, adorned his young master's bed.

It wasn't fitting for a demon lord to have pink sheets, Eclipse decided. Just as it wasn't fitting for a demon lord to befriend people he was supposed to kill, or smile at nearly everyone he passed, or to want a relationship with a demon under his command, but Raenef _liked_ pink sheets, just as he liked being nice to people, and the idea of himself and Eclipse being a couple.

He did make it so difficult sometimes, Eclipse thought, giving in to the temptation to brush a stray strand of blonde hair away from Raenef's face.

If Raenef had been any other demon lord then he would have undoubtedly forced himself on Eclipse by now, and that would have been a suitably demonic thing to do, but as much as Eclipse wanted his master to be a good demon lord, the thought of Raenef forcing himself on anyone was not one that Eclipse liked.

He wanted to be a good servant, and he wanted his master to be a good demon lord, but another part of that seemed to be steadily growing every time Raenef smiled that, despite Eclipse's best efforts to pretend otherwise, just wanted to see Raenef happy, gods-be-damned whether or not it was because of something demonic.

Needless to say it was, at times like this, very difficult to keep these two separate wants of his from driving him completely insane.

He just wished there was some way he could block out the part of him that wanted exactly the same thing Raenef wanted, but then what would happen? Would they simply go back to interacting purely on a master and servant basis? Eclipse doubted it.

Why the hell did Raenef have to make his life so difficult? Before he had come along Eclipse hadn't once even contemplated the idea of falling in love, but now, no matter how hard he tried, love seemed to be pulling him down, using teeth, claws, puppy-dog eyes, and every other method available to make sure he fell deep enough that he could never climb back out again.

It's true, Eclipse thought wearily. You do _fall _in love, because no-one would willingly _jump_ into feeling like this, would they?

"Hey!" a voice suddenly pulled Eclipse away from his thoughts. His hand snapped back from Raenef's forehead at lightning speed. "Is Raenef okay?" Erutis asked, barging into Raenef's room without even knocking. She took one look at the blush that was forming on Eclipse's cheeks and smiled.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Erutis asked, the sly predatory grin never leaving her face.

"Of course not!" Eclipse said, his cheeks just growing more and more red.

Chris appeared at the door beside Erutis, and quickly took in the smile on Erutis's face and the obviously embarrassed Eclipse.

"Am I missing something?" the cleric asked.

"It appears that I have interrupted a very 'delicate' moment between Raenef and Eclipse," Erutis announced, going all starry eyed at the idea.

"Eep!" Chris squealed.

"You did not!" Eclipse protested just as Chris was turning to leave.

"Don't be ashamed Eclipse!" Erutis said. "I just know that Raenef returns your feelings, right Rae?"

"Master Raenef is passed out on the bed, meaning unconscious, therefore you couldn't have interrupted anything between us!" Eclipse pointed out.

The room fell silent as Erutis and Chris turned towards the bed very slowly and took in the sight of the sleeping demon lord.

"Oh," Erutis sounded disappointed.

"Thank Rased," Chris said.

"Does that mean you were gazing lovingly at Raenef while he slept, Eclipse?" Erutis squealed, not giving up in her attempt to prove that she had indeed interrupted a tender moment.

"NO!" Eclipse lied, although the blush on his face seemed intent on giving him away.

"Awww…" Erutis cooed. "You should really tell him how you feel Eclipse, because I meant what I said before. Raenef _really_ likes y…"

"I know damned well that Raenef is in love with me!" Eclipse shouted. "And he knows how I feel about him, all right? We have since before the two of you idiotic humans showed up!"

"Huh?" Erutis sounded confused. "Then why…"

"Because we're demons!" Eclipse yelled. "Demons don't fall in love, and we certainly don't live happily ever after, as you humans seem so fond of doing."

"Why not?"

Eclipse and Erutis were both surprised to find out that the question came from Chris.

"I mean," Chris continued, "having a couple of humans living in your castle isn't exactly demonic either, but Raenef's doing it. If you love one another then it's a bit stupid to pretend otherwise."

"But…" Eclipse protested.

"Don't 'but' me!" Chris snapped. "I may not be gay or anything like you two are, and you along with every Rased-loving reader of the comic think I'm just in there to be funny, but I'm still Raenef's friend, and I say it's stupid for you two to be gay and not together."

Eclipse stared in mute shock. Who would have expected Chris to be so definite about the matter?

"Besides," Chris went on. "If Raenef isn't with you then he might get lonely and want to start dating me, and I don't want that to happen."

"Idiot," Erutis said, hitting Chris on the head. "You had to go and ruin the moment, didn't you? You've got to admit that he has a point though, right Eclipse?"

"I'm not too sure I want to take any advice from him seriously," Eclipse snarled, "since because of him, his so-called friend is now lying unconscious in bed with one of the worst cases of influenza I have ever seen."

"How is that my fault?" Chris asked as he picked himself up from the floor after being hit by Erutis.

"You do realise it's snowing outside, right?" Erutis reminded the cleric, pointing to the window.

"The sudden change in temperature hit Master Raenef hard," Eclipse commented. "And I think I know how this happened, so don't even bother trying to claim that this wasn't your fault, cleric."

"What did I do?" Chris protested.

"I suspect you raided Raenef's library looking for a way to undo the master's mistake, am I right?"

"Yes…" Chris mumbled.

"And you came across a reversal spell, am I right?"

"Yes…"

"Reversal spells don't undo a spell, rather, they cause an effect exactly the opposite to the spell the original spell-caster was trying to achieve, hence why when you used it to get rid of a heat wave, it caused a cold snap. Reversal spells are usually used in defence to turn a spell cast on you back on the attacker."

"How was I supposed to know that!"

Eclipse ignored Chris and continued to speak. "Now that I know for certain what you've done I should be able to fix it."

"Couldn't you just cast a reversal spell on my reversal spell?" Chris asked.

"No," Eclipse answered. "Not unless I want to cause a heat wave a thousand times worse than the one you were aiming to stop, because that, oh all-powerful-super-genius Chris, is what would happen."

"Eclipse," a weak voice called out from the bed. "Can't it wait? I…" The sentence broke as Raenef stopped to sneeze. "I've never seen snow before," Raenef concluded.

"Master Raenef," Eclipse sighed, flying back to Raenef's side. He placed a hand on Raenef's brow, checking to see if the fever was still high, and pulled his hand back quickly as he realised that if anything, it had gotten worse.

"Ssh," Eclipse soothed Raenef, stroking his forehead. "You must get some rest. You need to get better."

"But the snow…"

"It's all right Master Raenef. I promise I won't get rid of the snow until you're better."

This, Eclipse silently admitted, would make Raenef's recovery all the more difficult.

Raenef's eyes fluttered closed once more, making Eclipse think that his master had indeed done as he suggested and fallen asleep, until his voice called out once more.

"Eclipse," Raenef whispered. "Do we have a fireplace?"

Eclipse didn't need any other command. Wordlessly he knelt down and picked his lord up off the bed, still wrapped up in his blankets, and held him close, letting the demon lord's head rest against his shoulder.

"Go," Eclipse said, and the two of them were transported from the room.

"Damn!" Erutis cursed. "Now I know we're going to miss out on something special."

"You're weird," Chris commented. "Personally I'm glad."

"You have no sense of romance."

"My sense of romance is fine, thank you! It's just that they're both guys!"

"So?"

* * *

All it took to light the fireplace was a flick of Eclipse's fingers. Fire lighting was an incredibly useful skill, and one which Eclipse had learnt off by heart many centuries ago. 

"Could you teach me how to do that Eclipse?" Raenef asked, cuddling in closer to the raven-haired demon.

"As long as you promise to pay attention," Eclipse answered, giving his lord a small smile.

"I can't help it," Raenef whispered. "You distract me."

"I distract you…" Eclipse sighed. "How can I distract you from your studies when I'm the one you're supposed to be paying attention to?"

Eclipse settled himself down on the floor with Raenef in his lap, making sure to tuck the blanket around Raenef's shoulders.

A small sniffling sound came from somewhere around Eclipse's shoulder, and he looked down to discover that Raenef was crying.

"Master," he asked, hoping that Raenef wasn't too upset.

"Please don't call me that," Raenef sniffed. "You know that I don't like it."

"But Mas… Raenef, that's what you are to me."

"No, no, no," Raenef sobbed, wrapping his arms around Eclipse's neck. "It's not and you know it. I try to be what you want me to Eclipse, and now that I'm complete, I'd like to think that I've done some really demonic things, and I never stuff up when there are other demons around, but that's not good enough for you, is it?"

"Master Raenef, I…"

Eclipse realised too late that he had still added the title.

"I'm sorry… Raenef, but I… it's not that you're not good enough. If anything I should be the one fearing I'm not good enough, seeing as you're a lord and I'm only a servant."

"Then _why_?" Raenef sobbed. "And don't you dare say that we've been through this before, because you've never given me a real reason, and I don't mean something like 'it's not proper' because that's not a real reason Eclipse! It's not! If you don't really love me back; if you were just saying what you did so I'd be happy then tell me!"

"Raenef; I do love you," Eclipse said before he could stop himself. "It's just that…"

"Then prove it!"

Eclipse was startled to say the least. Raenef very rarely showed his more demonic side, and it was always a shock when he did. Caught between an almost hysterical master and his own forbidden desires, it seemed there was only one thing to do.

Before Eclipse could think about what he was doing, he took Raenef's tear-streaked face in his hands and pressed their lips together ever-so-gently. For the first time in his long life Eclipse let his emotions rule him completely; let them flow through his lips into Raenef's as he kissed his soft lips.

Raenef was so shocked that it took him a couple of moment before he kissed back. He wasn't really sure what he was doing, but that didn't really matter. Eclipse was kissing him, and Raenef was quite content to let the older demon take the lead.

Raenef whimpered in pleasure as Eclipse took one of his lips between his own. The sound startled Eclipse, and the kiss was broken.

Raenef stared up into Eclipse's deep purple eyes, unable to find words for what had just happened.

Eclipse merely smiled, and pulled Raenef back against him, letting the demon lord's head rest against his shoulder once more.

"Sleep," he told Raenef. "You need to get well again."

"Uh-huh," Raenef agreed, not able to protest.

For a moment the two of them sat there in front of the fire, content just to listen to each other's breathing.

"Eclipse?" Raenef finally spoke.

"Mmm?" Eclipse questioned.

"I'm not going to make you get sick, am I?"

Eclipse laughed. "Don't worry Raenef; demons aren't supposed to get sick either."

Raenef gave him a questioning look.

"I'll be fine," Eclipse told him, pulling him impossibly closer. "As long as you're happy, I'll be fine."


	6. Night

AN: Well, it's finally the end. Thanks to everyone who read or reviewed this story. I'm glad you enjoyed it, but unfortunately there can be no more (there's no more verses in the poem for a starter.) Remember, this is shounen-ai, and based on a manga I don't own.

And now, proudly presenting the final chapter of Fire and Ice.

**Chapter Six – Night**

_I am Night: I bring again  
Hope of pleasure, rest from pain:  
Thoughts unsaid 'twixt Life and Death  
My fruitful silence quickeneth. _

From a poem by William Morris

* * *

Chris had discovered a lot of things over the past few days; that Eclipse and Raenef were in love and apparently had been for a while; that Eclipse became even more irritable when sunburnt; that Eclipse seemed to find something interesting in staring at Raenef for hours upon hours while the demon lord slept, and now, that Raenef really loved snow, but hated the fact that it was cold. 

Apparently Eclipse had enjoyed spending time with Raenef at the beach as well, even though he ended up burnt to a crisp and continued to deny that he found anything even slightly amusing about their journey to the coast, even though his face would light up every time one of them would mention something that had happened.

It was almost like the way they cared for each other, because it seemed that even though the two of them had features that they would have no doubt found completely off-putting had they been part of someone else's personality, they loved each other completely and without reserve. It was almost like fire melting ice, and ice cooling fire. Raenef and Eclipse; fire and ice.

Chris wondered why on earth he was thinking the things he was, shook off whatever bout of out-of-character-ness that had overtaken him, and concentrated on the snowball he was forming.

This one had Erutis's name on it, he decided, just as he received a mouthful of snow thrown at him from somewhere in the vicinity of a certain red-headed female swordsmaster.

* * *

"Master Raenef!" Eclipse called out. "If you stay out here you're going to get sick again!" Today was the first day Eclipse had felt Raenef was ready to be out and about again, and the last thing he wanted was for his master to enter a relapse. 

Raenef sighed. "All right."

Eclipse didn't miss the disappointment in Raenef's voice, and tried to remedy it.

"I can wait another couple of days before I return the castle to normal if you'd like to enjoy the snow some more."

"That's okay," Raenef said, trying his hardest to smile. "I think I prefer a warm sun or fire anyway," the demon lord admitted, wrapping his woollen jacket more tightly around him, wishing that it was Eclipse that was keeping him warm.

It was so confusing, Raenef decided. The kiss had seemed so real, but when he had woken up again he was back in his bed, and it seemed like none of it had happened. Eclipse's attitude certainly hadn't changed towards him, much to Raenef's dismay.

Maybe it was time to find out for sure whether it had been a dream or reality.

"Eclipse," Raenef asked shyly, "do we have a fireplace?"

"You know we do, Master Raenef," Eclipse answered.

"In that case," Raenef said, moving close to Eclipse. He very slowly wrapped his arms around Eclipse's neck, pressing their bodies together and feeling Eclipse freeze as he did so. "Can you take me there?"

Eclipse's body seemed unable to move. Raenef wasn't even sure if the elder demon was breathing.

"Oh," Eclipse suddenly gasped. "There as in the fireplace. Of course."

"Because you know you promised me that you'd teach me how to perform that fire-lighting spell."

"Of course, Master Raenef."

"And I thought I told you to stop called me Master.'

Eclipse ignored Raenef's protests and wrapped his arms around the demon lord's waist.

"Of course," Eclipse smiled, leaning in close to the younger man's ear. "Raenef," he whispered, sending goosebumps up and down the demon lord's body.

It had been so difficult, Eclipse thought. For so long even the smallest of glances or touches had sent him into a self-doubting spiral that gradually made him feel less and less like the person he had thought he was, but this; this was so much easier. Why hadn't he just thrown caution the wind earlier, because he got a hell of a lot more smiles from Raenef when he just let his emotions take control; that was for sure.

"Eclipse," Raenef sighed. "Can you do that again?"

"What was that my lord?"

"Say my name again," Raenef answered, resting his head against Eclipse's chest, "without any stupid titles."

Eclipse grinned, and then, because he couldn't very well be a good servant without doing exactly as his master asked, leaned even closer to his ear.

"Raenef," he repeated, somewhat pleased with himself when he heard Raenef sigh in pleasure.

Eclipse was startled when he felt Raenef's lips press very chastely against his own. The kiss was much more reserved than his own had been, and lasted for only a moment before Raenef pulled away again.

It was good. There was no doubt about that. But it wasn't quite enough, so Eclipse captured Raenef's chin with one of his hands and brought their lips together again. This time it was a long while before they parted.

"Eclipse," Raenef whispered as they parted. "Eclipse, I…"

"What is it Raenef?" Eclipse asked softly. "Whatever it is you want I'll do it."

"Eclipse," Raenef repeated. "I think we should move."

"What?"

With that Eclipse turned around to discover a couple of pairs of eyes watching them. Chris stared at them in horror, fainting as soon as the two of them looked his way. Erutis cheered.

"I think you may be right," Eclipse commented. "Go."

"Awww…." Erutis complained, oblivious to the fact that Chris was unconscious and therefore couldn't hear her. "Now this time I know we're missing out on something."

* * *

Raenef's lips were captured as soon as they reached their destination. The fireplace was left unlit, and there were no blankets in the room apart from Eclipse's robe. Raenef soon discovered however, that Eclipse was much warmer than any fire, or any blanket ever could be. 

Later, when he was wrapped up only in Eclipse's arms, the older demon's robes covering them both, Raenef knew he had never been this happy before, and probably never would be unless he stayed with Eclipse.

"I love you," the blonde whispered, leaning back against Eclipse's chest.

"I love you too Raenef," Eclipse said, pressing a kiss to his lover's forehead.

Raenef smiled and stared absentmindedly at the empty fireplace in front of him.

"Eclipse," he whispered. "Can you teach me how to light the fire?"

"Of course," Eclipse said, smiling from ear to ear. He grabbed one of Raenef's hands in his own, letting some of his power flow through his fingers and into Raenef's so that his master could feel what he was doing. "It's a weakened version of a popular battle spell. Just feel the fire flow into you, gather the energy and then speak the incantation."

Raenef looked up at his tutor, his eyes asking Eclipse for the incantation, even if his voice did not.

"Fiery blaze," Eclipse whispered.

The fireplace was lit.

THE END


End file.
